Real Mallorca played their worst hour of football so far this season on Saturday against Espanyol and thoroughly deserved to lose 2-1. I was reminded after the game about the football term 'sh*thousery' which basically means a team (in this case Espanyol) deploying all the dark arts, e.g. falling down faking injury, haranguing an under-pressure referee and time wasting.
Mallorca players harshly received five yellow cards in this game, mostly for arguing with the referee and in one case kicking the ball away. For sixty minutes we were awful and gifted an average Espanyol their two goals. We didn’t have a shot on goal until the final few minutes and we had a rare day off.
Things changed on the hour mark when coach Arrasate brought on Abdon, Valery, Lato and Chiquinho, with the latter looking lively and although he missed a simple chance near the end, was probably our best player. Mallorca were all over Espanyol after the referee added on 11 minutes at the end. Chiquinho’s corner somehow finished in the net, rebounding off Raillo to make it 2-1, after which Mallorca tried to get the all-important equaliser but to no avail. It wasn’t to be and we still haven’t beaten Espanyol in Barcelona for 14 years.
Ex-Espanyol idol, Sergi Darder, who played there for five seasons, was given a rough ride by the home fans, some of whom have short memories as Darder almost single-handedly kept Espanyol in La Liga on several occasions. Every time he touched the ball he was jeered and whistled.
Mallorca go into the international break on 14 points and Mallorquinistas shouldn’t be too despondent about Saturday’s slump in form. Coach Arrasate didn’t mince his words at his post-match press conference, saying: “We have room for improvement in everything. We wasted the first half but from the 60th minute onward, we were more determined and perhaps I should have made the changes earlier. We have to remember a game lasts 90 minutes, not 30.”
Next up for Mallorca is a home game AT LAST against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday 20th, kick off at the Son Moix at 2pm.
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